TORONTO, July 14, 2014 -- Each month over 40,000 private flights take-off with no one but the pilots on board. These flights are either repositioning to pick up passengers or returning to base after having dropped them off. These are known in the industry as “empty legs” and are offered at up to 75 per cent less than the cost of chartering the private luxury aircraft yourself. Finding these gems, however, is not an easy task and depends on who you know in the industry. Or so it used to be.
A new Toronto-based company is making getting on these flights easier than ever before. The founders at FlyEasy have developed an end-to-end marketplace that allows private operators to list their empty legs and for customers to book and pay for these flights online with the click of a button. No longer does booking a private plane require the hassle of calling brokers or obtaining complex quotes. FlyEasy’s unique system can also match customers with a returning flight using the round trip option so they don’t have to worry about finding their way back. Customers can also request and book a pickup at a regional landing strip close by if they don’t want to drive out to the large international airport where the flight may be departing.
Bookings can be made on a per-seat basis when available, much like commercial airlines, or customers can choose to have the aircraft all to themselves. For instance, a flight from Toronto to New York on an eight-passenger Learjet would be about $5,000. Have seven colleagues come along and each passenger will pay $625 for their luxurious leather seat. That’s comparable, if not cheaper, to one-way business class airfare on a commercial airline.
Once the booking is confirmed, FlyEasy passengers receive their itinerary and boarding pass via email, which can be sent to a mobile device. Passengers can avoid the hassle of arriving early or sitting in lineups at the airport and relax in the private lounge at the hangar. Best of all, there are no onerous restrictions on hand luggage, cell phones may be used at any time, and passengers only need to get to the airport 15 minutes or so ahead of take-off time.
Becoming a member is easy and there are no monthly fees. Simply sign up by visiting www.flyeasy.co and get access to booking private flights. FlyEasy’s booking platform is scheduled to become available to the public early this fall. For private flight operators or brokers interested in selling empty legs on the FlyEasy platform, please contact Shaan Bhanji (CEO, Co-Founder) at +1 (416) 722-0876 or via email at [email protected]
For customers who would like to receive updates or get more information, please visit www.flyeasy.co and sign up to become a member.
